Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong kicked off his public lobbying for his $5 vehicle registration fee with a presentation to Lehigh County commissioners Wednesday night.

Last month, Armstrong clued commissioners in on his plan, which would see most drivers in Lehigh County pay $5 more when they register their vehicle with PennDOT every one or two years.

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Under Armstrong’s plan, the county would use the annual $1.5 million raised by the fee to pay for bridge repairs in the first year. That money would be collected by PennDOT and returned to the county. About 21 other counties have passed the fee, including Bucks, Philadelphia and Schuylkill counties. Armstrong said Daughin County passed the fee despite not owning any bridges.

In the second year and beyond, the county would pocket half the fees for bridge repairs and award the other half to local municipalities for their own transportation infrastructure projects.

The plan is a successor to a similar effort backed by former Executive Tom Muller.

Muller’s plan called for the county to borrow $20 million, divide the funds between every municipality in the township and then pay off the debt over time with the fee. His plan failed to find five votes of support and died quietly when the board tabled it and never brought it back up for discussion.

Armstrong downplayed the significance of the fee, noting that anyone making $19,200 or less annually would not have to pay the fee.

"It does require a sacrifice from everybody who owns a car. It will require them to buy one less Starbucks coffee a year," he said.

The state originally offered a $2 million incentive to counties to pass the fee, but it expired last summer. Armstrong said PennDOT officials made a verbal commitment to provide the county with the $2 million if they pass it.

When pressed by Commissioner Marty Nothstein, Armstrong said PennDOT would only make a more formal agreement after the county had passes the fee, drawing scoffs from skeptics on the dais and in audience.

No commissioners took a hard stance on the plan, saying they wanted to explore the details more before offering support or opposition. They thanked Armstrong for informing the board about his intentions while still keeping the public in the loop.

Commissioner Brad Osborne requested the administration study whether taxpayers would be better served by paying $5 to a county-wide fee for each vehicle they own or if their individual municipality raised property taxes to fix their roads.

A criticism leveled at Muller’s plan was that the county had no business funding road projects that were the responsibility of other levels of governments.

Armstrong said his administration would work with any requests by the board but argued the transportation grid needs to be looked at holistically.

A county-owned bridge may be in good shape, but it will do little good if drivers can’t access it because a state-owned road or a locally owned bridge nearby is closed or under weight restrictions, Armstrong said. State aid can’t be counted on, and a fee would improve road safety and reliability for drivers in Lehigh County, he added.

“Do you drive only on the roads in front of your house?” Armstrong asked rhetorically.

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Although Armstrong’s presentation was not included on the agenda, several people who don’t routinely attend commissioner meetings were on hand specifically to address the presentation. Most audience members who commented on the plan, including Upper Milford Township Supervisor Joyce Moore and former county commissioner candidate Bob Elbich, offered their support.

One attendee knew to ask why Armstrong was asked to make the presentation Wednesday when Director of General Services Rick Molchany, the administration’s expert on the plan, was not in attendance.

Commissioner Amy Zanelli revealed that Nothstein, who did not support Muller’s proposal last year, used his power as board chairman to request the presentation despite four commissioners asking the discussion be delayed until Molchany returned.

The lone voice against the plan from the audience was Joe Hilliard, who told commissioners that voters would not tolerate the $5 surcharge, which he called a tax.

Armstrong reminded commissioners that the $5 fee was only an option because it was approved by the Republican-controlled statehouse and signed into law by former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican. Hilliard countered Corbett went on lose re-election in historic fashion, a loss Hilliard pinned on the law, which also created Pennsylvania’s highest-in-the-nation gas tax.

“Trust me, it’s a tax. You will be held accountable,” Hilliard warned.